Argentina Guide
The Northwest
Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña (MAAM)
Opening time: Tues– Sun 9am–1pm & 4–9pm; $10, free on weekdays for the first hour
Website: www.maam.org.ar
Address: Mitre 77
In an attractive Neo-Gothic building, the Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña (MAAM) is the one museum in Salta that you should not miss. It was specially created to present to the public the discovery of the so-called Llullaillaco Children, one of the most important archeological finds ever made in Argentina. Three naturally mummified Inca children were uncovered in 1999 atop Volcán Llullaillaco, due west of Salta on the Chilean border and over 6700m above sea level, by an expedition of mountaineers and scientists. They were a 6-year-old girl, visibly struck by lightning some time after her burial, her hair arranged in two small braids and with a metal plaque as an adornment (which attracted the lightning); a teenage girl whose face was painted with a red pigment and who had small fragments of coca leaves above her upper lip; and a 7-year-old boy wearing a white feather ornament tied around his head. Their incredibly well-preserved corpses – all three lived around 1490 AD – have since been kept in a university laboratory in the city as tests on their tissue and other remains have been completed.
The ground-floor bookshop is prime hunting ground for souvenirs, mostly of very high quality, while the marvellous cafeteria, decorated in keeping with the museum and offering local specialities, is open daily from 9am to 10pm.